Join the Hoy-Scott Watershed Society on Sunday, May 6 for Salmon Leave Home at the Hoy

The Hoy-Scott Watershed Society invites the community out for their annual Salmon Leave Home event on Sunday, May 6 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Hoy Creek Hatchery in Coquitlam. People of all ages will have the opportunity to help release 18-month-old coho smolts into Hoy Creek.

“Salmon Leave Home is a special event for families with small children. The kids find so much delight in releasing fish into the creek,” said society president, Robbin Whachell. “Once the salmon are released, they make their way downstream to Scott Creek, then Coquitlam River, the Fraser River - which empties into the Strait of Georgia on the Pacific Ocean. They return in approximately 2 years to the same location where they were spawned.”

The family-friendly free outdoor event will run rain or shine and the society will have families engaged in fishy fun. Students from the Pinetree Secondary environmental club will be providing face painting, while the Wild Salmon Creative Cafe will be serving up Spirit Bear coffees and will host an art build activity.

It’s a great opportunity to learn about the local fish hatchery and get information on the year-round salmon enhancement program, which includes work with plants in the riparian area of Hoy and Scott Creeks. Our 5-month old coho fry will also be on display.

The hatchery is located in the Hoy Creek Linear Park behind Douglas College and north of Guildford, a few minutes walk inland and is only a ten-minute walk from the Lafarge Lake-Douglas Skytrain station. To find the exact location, simply Google “Hoy Creek Hatchery.”

Hoy Trail has several entrances:- Walk in from Princess Crescent;- Walk in from behind Douglas College;- Walk in from Guildford Way (between Johnson and Pinetree);- Walk in from Walton Avenue, or behind Walton Elementary;- Walk in from the foot of Lasalle Place.

Hoy-Scott Watershed Society, (HSWS) is a not-for-profit, volunteer-run environmental stewardship group, that conducts a year-round salmon enhancement program in partnership with the City of Coquitlam, and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. We are actively involved in watershed restoration, public awareness, education, and preservation.